Celtics get back to work after Christmas break

Jim Fenton

Friday

Dec 27, 2013 at 12:01 AMDec 27, 2013 at 12:25 PM

The team returned to practice Thursday afternoon, getting together for the first time since a loss in Indiana on Sunday night. The Celtics are idle until a Saturday afternoon game with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

They were handed a Christmas gift by the NBA in the form of five consecutive days off during the holiday week.

In a rare occurrence, the Celtics have no games from Monday to Friday with their schedule resuming Saturday afternoon against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the TD Garden.

Coach Brad Stevens even gave the team Monday, Tuesday and Christmas Day off from practice, allowing players to either go home or have family members join them in the Boston area.

It marks the first time since 1996 that the Celtics weren’t either playing on Christmas Day – something they did the past five years – or flying out on Christmas to begin a road trip.

So it was a relaxing holiday for the Celtics with no basketball duties to worry about until they returned to practice Thursday afternoon.

“Those three days kind of make you lazy,’’ said veteran forward Gerald Wallace. “You eat a lot. You want to spend time and sit around. You’re as far away from basketball as you can possibly be.

“Coming back here, the mind-set today, my main thing was I just wanted to get in and go as hard as I could, just to try to burn those three days off.’’

The Celtics (12-17) hit the break with a three-game losing streak that has dropped them out of first place in the Atlantic Division.

That dip by the Celtics was in the back of coach Brad Stevens’ mind, but he enjoyed spending the break back home in Indiana (where the Celtics were routed by the Pacers on Sunday night) and in Ohio visiting the family of his wife, Tracy.

“You never really do (forget about basketball), but you do the best you can at it,’’ said Stevens, who returned to the Boston area Wednesday night. “It didn’t help going in with a sour taste, playing the way we did on Sunday.’’

Stevens lived his entire life in Indiana before taking the Celtics’ job in July, and he had plenty of friends on hand in Indianapolis for the game with the Pacers.

“I spent the next 24 hours (after the game) there and went to Ohio with Tracy’s family,’’ he said. “It was great. Everybody was at the game. They probably could have spent their time better, but to be honest with you, they’re probably all Pacers fans first. It was great to see them.’’

Stevens got the Celtics moving again Thursday, ending practice with a drill that called for plenty of sprinting to help Rajon Rondo in his return from knee surgery.

“It was important to get back to work, and for the most part, we had a pretty good practice today,’’ said Stevens. “It’s really not a lot of days off in the big picture. You’re not going to lose a lot of conditioning in three days. You’re not going to lose any basketball feel or forget anything.

“It’s not that big of a time (off). The biggest thing for me was identifying what we needed to work on and trying to get better in those areas in which we control.’’

The Celtics have another practice today, then play two more home games before tackling a difficult stretch where six of seven games are going to be on the road.

“I think it was good,’’ said forward Jared Sullinger of the break. “I think everybody recharged their battery. You need that.

“You’re with the same guys every day almost and after a while, you’re kind of tired of seeing their faces. I think everybody recharged their battery and came back and got a good workout.’’

Jim Fenton may be reached at jfenton@enterprisenews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFenton_ent.

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